Private flight carried senator and family from Argentina through Ecuador
Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro arrived at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Wednesday morning with his wife and two daughters after leaving Brazil despite an order from Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The family arrived under tight security and with an increased police presence after crossing into Argentina and stopping in Ecuador, UPI reported.
The former presidential candidate left Brazil after losing Sunday’s presidential runoff election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The departure came just months before his Senate term expires in late January 2027. UPI reported that Bolsonaro was expected to lose the special legal protections afforded to lawmakers under Brazilian law when the term ends.
De Moraes issued the order Monday, barring the senator from leaving Brazil and directing him to surrender his passports. His departure violated the order, UPI said. Bolsonaro is under investigation on suspicion of money laundering and illegal foreign currency transactions.
According to CNN Brasil, the family crossed Brazil’s land border into Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, late Tuesday and boarded a private Gulfstream G400 operated by Baires Fly S.A. UPI said the international route allowed Bolsonaro to circumvent Brazilian judicial restrictions.
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration confirmed the crossing in an official statement Wednesday. The agency said the family entered Argentina at 10:50 p.m. local time Tuesday through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in Misiones province, traveling in a van. Immigration records listed the four travelers as Flávio Nantes Bolsonaro, Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, Carolina Figueira Bolsonaro and Luiza Figueira Bolsonaro.
The agency said the family had valid travel documents, faced no legal restrictions on entering Argentina and passed through immigration without incident. At 11:30 p.m., the traveling party boarded the private flight dispatched by Baires Fly S.A. and bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador, according to the flight plan.
The aircraft stopped in Guayaquil to refuel early Wednesday before continuing to Florida, UPI reported. Clarín and La Nación reported that Santiago Caputo, a political strategist and adviser to President Javier Milei, was present when the private aircraft departed early Wednesday. The newspapers said his presence raised questions about possible involvement by Argentine government officials in Bolsonaro’s departure.
Brazil’s Federal Police canceled all passports issued to Bolsonaro after he failed to surrender them within the court-ordered deadline. Brazilian outlet G1 reported that the senator used an Italian passport to enter foreign territory.
The U.S. government authorized Bolsonaro’s entry, UOL reported, adding that the State Department had approved immigration documents for the senator and his family. President Donald Trump later publicly expressed support for Bolsonaro’s arrival. Speaking to reporters, Trump said he approved of the trip, described the family as “good people” and again criticized the runoff results. He did not provide evidence to support his allegations.
Separately, Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Flávio Dino ordered the Federal Police on Tuesday to accelerate an investigation into suspected foreign interference and irregular financing during Bolsonaro’s presidential runoff campaign, Veja reported. The inquiry is intended to determine whether foreign funding and influence operations affected the election, including possible financial links to Rockbridge Network, a U.S. organization co-founded by Vice President JD Vance.
Authorities are also examining allegations of deliberate algorithm manipulation on Meta and X to influence voters, foreign-funded advertising and possible manipulation of betting markets on international platforms such as Polymarket.
In explaining his decision, Dino warned of the seriousness of the allegations and emphasized that Brazilian law prohibits direct or indirect interference by foreign individuals, organizations or governments in the country’s democratic and sovereign electoral process.